A rare golden broadmouth bass was caught in the US state of Virginia. This was reported by the Washington Post.

In September, 28-year-old Jacob Moore went fishing in Upper Chippox Creek. He managed to catch more than 20 largemouth bass, and one of the fish turned out to be very unusual: its length was 40 centimeters, it was golden in color and shimmered in the sun. As a rule, largemouth bass has olive or dark green scales, a white belly and a stripe spot on the back.

Moore had never seen such fish. He took a photo of a strange perch and then dropped it into the water. The fisherman remembered him in January when he met Bob Smeth, who worked for the Virginia Department of Natural Resources. The men spoke, and Moore said he had caught an albino widemouth bass. He then sent a photo of the fish to Smet, who forwarded the message to his colleagues.

Smet’s colleague, Alex McCrickard, immediately understood what kind of fish this was. During his work in the department, he saw such a mutation only once in 2020, when a fisherman from the city of Staunton caught a similar golden-colored fish.

The golden color is due to a rare genetic mutation that gives the sea bass yellow pigmentation due to a lack of melanin. This is called xanthism. “As a rule, people believe there is only one fish in a million”– Saved McCrickard.

The department made Moore’s unusual catch public. Adam hopes this achievement will help him fulfill his long-held dream of becoming a professional fisherman.